Despite a full-court press of publicity, Semi Pro dropped the ball this weekend, scoring a tepid $15.2 million at the box office. Nonetheless, Will Ferrell's basketball comedy dribbled into the top spot, though it was far from the slam-dunk success of the box-office MVP's previous sports comedies, Blades Of Glory ($33 million) and Talladega Nights ($47 million). If only there was some way to convey this information in a way that easily reminds readers that the movie is about basketball…
Proving that photos of Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman kinda-kissing is better publicity than, you know, advertising, The Other Boleyn Girl came in at No. 4, grossing $8.3 million; oddly, Christina Ricci's pigface didn't have the same effect, as the weekend's other major release, Penelope, grossed a measly $4 million.
The rest of the top 10 remained pretty familiar, dabbled with duh-worthy fare like last weekend's top earner, Vantage Point (No. 2), Step Up 2 The Streets (No. 6), and Fool's Gold (No. 7), and a couple of others riding the last ripples of Oscar buzz (No Country For Old Men at No. 9 and Juno at No. 10).
More detailed numbers can be found at Box Office Mojo.